


Aquamarine Serpent

by TheLOAD



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, F/F, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Past Torture, Psychological Torture, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-13 23:12:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4541091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLOAD/pseuds/TheLOAD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Steven finds a cracked gem washed up on the beach he opens up a chapter in Crystal Gem history that everyone had hoped to forget.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cracks In The Sand

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my first attempt at writing a SU fic, staring my Gemsona. Let me know what you think.
> 
> Aquamarine's gem looks like this:  
> http://www.list-of-birthstones.com/Pictures%20of%20Birthstones/Aquamarine%20birthstones%203.jpg

Steven sat calmly on the beach, talking to Connie over the phone about how the first book in The Spirit Morph Saga was going to get a movie adaptation and watching the sun set behind the waves. He listed to Connie's choices in who she wanted to be cast, but his mind drifted away from the conversation when he saw something sparkle in the dimming light.

"Lapis?" Steven said, getting up and going over to the gem. He hoped beyond hope that it was Lapis' gem, but at the same time he dreaded the thought of Jasper being free. And if it was Lapis' gem, then that meant that Lapis was hurt.

"Steven?" Connie said over the phone. "Steven are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine," Steven said, stopping in front of the gem. It wasn't Lapis after all. It had a similar shape, that of a tear or raindrop, but was a lighter, clearer blue, and was cut where Lapis' gem was smooth. It was also crisscrossed with cracks, some deep enough to have pierced more than halfway through the gem. Bending down he carefully picked it up, holding the cracked gem in the palm of his hand. "Connie, I'm sorry but I have to go. I'll call you back tomorrow."

"Are you sure you're alright Steven?" Connie asked. "Do you need me to come over?"

"I'm alright," he said. "I just need to do gem stuff. I found something on the beach I want to ask them about."

"Alright. Talk to you tomorrow Steven."

"Talk to you tomorrow." After getting off the phone with Connie Steven cradled the gem gently in his hands as he ran to the house, wondering who or what this gem could be. It was hurt, that's for sure. Even worse than Amethyst had been when she cracked her gem. Even worse than Lapis had been.

"Pearl!" Steven called, opening the door and running inside. "Garnet! Amethyst!" The Gems were sitting on the couch and all looked up at Steven entered the room.

"Hey Steven," Amethyst said, but she went quiet when she saw the look on his face and the way he held something.

"What is it Steven?" Garnet asked, standing up and walking over to him.

"I found this on the beach," Steven said, holding out his hands to show the Gems the gem. "It washed up out of the ocean." The Gems froze, looking at the blue gem in his hand.

"Oh dear," Pearl said.

"Put it down, Steven" Garnet said. "Gently, on this pillow." Steven did as she said then stepped back as The Gems started to crowd around his find.

"What's wrong?" Steven asked, once more starting to feel anxious. "Who is that?"

"Her name was Aquamarine," Pearl said, frowning down at the gem and tracing a finger over the crack before muttering "it used to be deeper."

"Aquamarine?" Steven asked. "Did you know her?"

"We did," Garnet said, one hand clenching into a fist. "She used to be a Crystal Gem."


	2. History Lesson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting chapter two. My friend helped me with editing, but if you see any typos or think that a character should have phrased something differently let me know.
> 
> Also if you like the story comments are always appreciated. I want to know what you think.
> 
> Also it occurs to me that I may have messed with the timeline of the war a bit, but we don't know everything so who knows.
> 
> The gem healing thing is a headcanon. I figured that if gems are their real bodies they must be able to heal them, it just takes a while. Like hundreds of thousands of years.

"A Crystal Gem?" Steven asked, looking down at the cracked gem in the pillow. "What happened to her? Why was she in the ocean?"

"We put her in the ocean," Amethyst said, sitting on the table next to the gem and the pillow. "She always liked spending time in the water."

"Aquamarine was one of Rose's most loyal soldiers," Pearl said. "She was a good friend too. We put her in the water because we thought she was dead, but it looks like she's healed since then. Not a lot, but I remember the crack being deeper."

"Gems can heal?" Steven asked, looking at the cracked gem on the pillow.

"We can, Steven, but slowly," Pearl said. "It was nearly six thousand years since she was damaged, and her gem has only barely healed."

"How was she damaged?" Steven asked.

"It was near the end of the war," Garnet said. "We had mostly fought back Homeworld's forces, and we thought we had won. But in a battle Aquamarine went missing, we thought she had been smashed. We were wrong." Garnet stopped speaking, looking off to the side.

"They tortured her," Pearl continued. "Corrupted her into a desiccate wyvern like creature. Water was her element, so they deprived her of water in addition to everything else. Then they unleashed her on Rose's armies. She didn't even recognize us."

"We were forced to fight her," Garnet said. "She was crazed and without reason. We didn't have a choice." Steven frowned, reaching out and touching the gem.

"You did this?" He asked.

"We had to, Steven," Amethyst said. "She would have killed us."

"We thought we killed her," Pearl said. "We buried her at sea because that's what she would have wanted. She fell in love with the myths of dragons and spent nearly all her time as a sea serpent. Even Amethyst didn't shape shift as much as her."

"She taught me how," Amethyst said, kicking her feet as she remembered. "She encouraged me to take whatever form I could."

"But she's not dead," Steven said, suddenly excited. "Which means we can heal her!" He grabbed the pillow, holding it gently to his chest. "We can bring her to my mother's fountain, and it will heal her. Right?" The Gems glanced at each other, looking unsure.

"We don't know what will happen if we heal her, Steven," Pearl said. "The last time she was whole she was a corrupted gem, and mindlessly destructive. She could go back to that if we heal her."

"It's too dangerous," Garnet said. "I'm sorry Steven, but we can't risk it."

"But she's your friend!" Steven said. "You said it yourself. And you should try to help your friends, no matter what. You couldn't fix her before, but maybe you can fix her now? Maybe my mom's fountain will cure her?" The thought of leaving her in her gem, hurt and lost, made Steven feel sick to his stomach. He held her closer to his chest and looked up at the gems. "If your friend is hurt you need to do everything to help them."

"Steven..." Pearl started, but Garnet cut her off.

"Steven is right," Garnet said. "We can at least try. If something goes wrong, she'll be weak from her time in her gem, and we can poof and bubble her. But we have to try." Steven beamed up at them and raced to the warp pad before the other gems could move.


	3. Enter Aquamarine

The journey to Rose's fountain was easier this time around, without Amethyst being in danger and without the bramble blocking their path. It was almost peaceful, though still Steven felt uneasy. He kept Aquamarine's gem close to his chest, wishing they had the missing fragments with them, and trying not to think about how the fountain could fail. It had healed Amethyst, he reminded himself, it could heal this new gem too.

The Gems, meanwhile, walked in front of Steven, and were trying their best not to look as tense as they felt. It had been thousands of years since their last encounter with Aquamarine and yet the memory was still fresh in their minds. She had been twisted into a monster, had tried to kill them, and they thought they had killed her in the struggle. Even if the fountain could heal her gem there was no guarantee that it would cure her. Even if it cured here there was no guarantee she wouldn't be bitter. Aquamarine had been a loyal friend and ally, but she had a temper to her as well.

Once they had reached the fountain Steven ran up and leaned over the edge, looking down into the water. "I just put her in?" He asked, looking back at the Gems and feeling suddenly unsure about this entire thing. What if he messed up? What if this didn't work?

"You know what to do, Steven," Garnet said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Put her in gently and the fountain will take care of the rest of it." Steven nodded and placed the pillow down on the side of the fountain before gently lifting the gem off of it and placing her into the water. He held the gem in his hands, watching it intently, before frowning and turning back to Garnet and the others.

"It's not working," he said. "Amethyst was healed by now."

"Aquamarine is cracked a lot worse than I was," Amethyst said. "You need to give her more time with this."

"Put her in the bottom of the fountain and leave her there," Pearl suggested. Steven looked back at Aquamarine before looking back at the Gems, grinning.

"We can have a sleep over!" He said. He placed Aquamarine at the bottom of the fountain and took off his Cheeseburger Backpack, rummaging through it until he pulled out a blanket. "We can tell stories, and play cards, and you can tell me about Aquamarine until she reforms."

"Steven..." Pearl started, but it was no use. Steven had already begun to set up his own bed area, and had even gotten out cards for them to play. But once everything was set he just started to watch Aquamarine's gem, forgetting about his other plans until he fell asleep beside the fountain.

\-----------  
When a bright light filled the area Steven had first thought that the sun had risen. But as he opened and rubbed his eyes he saw Aquamarine's gem floating above the fountain, fully healed, and starting to glow. He knelt down on his makeshift bed and stared up at it. Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet, who actually had been playing Go Fish with Steven's cards, stopped what they were doing instantly and summoned their weapons, in case the worst happened.

The light which had surrounded the gem was shifting, taking on an assortment of amorphous shapes before trying to form itself into a set body. It took the shape of a large serpent with wings and hind legs, and the Gems tensed. This shape didn't last long, however, and it soon shifted into a serpent built for life under the waves. But this form too soon vanished, and when the gem in front of them had finally reformed it was as humanoid as the rest of them.

She had long green hair with golden streaks within it which flowed down past her knees. Her dress was a pure blue, long, and worn on one shoulder almost like a toga, with an emerald green sash across the waist. Her skin was a pale turquoise and her gem was situated in the hollow of her throat. When she opened her eyes, blinking against what must have been harsh light for having been blind for so many centuries, her eyes were blue-green and flecked with brown. Steven walked up to her and held out his had to help her up, but she didn't seem to notice him, instead looking around as if searching for something or someone. In Steven's eyes she looked lost. Maybe even a little frightened.

"Garnet?" Aquamarine asked, blinking as she looked up at them. "Amethyst? Pearl?" She looked around them and herself, looked at the fountain and at the other gems, her eyes barely even glancing at Steven. The frown on her face deepened, and her brown flecked eyes came to rest on the gems once more.

"Where's Rose?"


End file.
